Confessions of a Conservative Atheist
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If Polonius had taken his own advice to be true rather than false and kept his command to his daughter to avoid Hamlet, Ophelia and the royal family might still be alive. The phrase “To thine own self be true” is familiar to almost everyone, having taken on a life of its own after William… Continue reading “To thine own self be true” and the importance of the source and context of advice
It’s difficult to overstate the radical rewiring of humanity and our role in the world that occurred in Shakespeare’s era, fundamentally altering the nature of our relationship with ourselves, others, and reality itself. A rewriting that might be breaking down today... The late, great literary critic and legendary scholar Harold Bloom once claimed that William… Continue reading Shakespeare and the end of humanity as we know it
In one sense, Hamlet spins out the statement in a play of words, not intended to have any logical meaning, but to confuse his audience, hiding his real thoughts beneath the mask of insanity. In another, it contains the meaning of the entire play and Macbeth besides. O God, I could be bounded in a… Continue reading I could be bounded in a nutshell, Shakespeare’s genius in three cryptic phrases
Hamlet’s lessons for a happy holiday season and a successful life in general. Who knew Shakespeare’s tragic Danish Prince could offer such good advice on positive mental health while careening towards a bloody end for him and his entire family? “There is nothing either good or bad, thinking makes it so.” Hamlet speaks these few… Continue reading This Christmas let thinking make it so and be merry from the inside out
HBO Max’s Station Eleven could’ve been a standard post-apocalyptic drama, but the introduction of a traveling caravan of actors who perform Shakespeare after the world ends, transforms the show into a story about stories. Their importance, their interpretation, how they are shared and how they change over time, something made apparent in the very first… Continue reading Station Eleven, Hamlet, and the importance of the stories we tell each other and ourselves
Robert Egger’s The Northman is based on the same source material as Shakespeare’s Hamlet, a Viking legend circa 1,000 AD, but takes a completely different path, crafting an almost anti-Hamlet. This “Shakespherean” mode of adaptation presents unique opportunity to return to Shakespeare’s original roots and illuminate both works. Despite attempts to cancel the world’s greatest… Continue reading Hamlet, The Northman, and Shakespeare’s genius through the looking glass
On the surface, Hamlet ponders life and fear of death, but the subtext veers far beyond that into morality and conscience, reflecting the themes of the play and the broader range of the human condition. Not bad for a speech that seems almost accidentally stuck into the final product, as if Shakespeare wrote it for… Continue reading “To be or not to be” is the most famous speech in the English language, but what does it really mean?
Confessions of a Conservative Atheist 